Russia Accelerates Its Starlink Rival ‘Rassvet’: Battlefield Internet Independence—or Years Away From Matching SpaceX?
Ukraine’s military intelligence says Russia is deploying its Rassvet low-Earth-orbit network faster than expected. Reuters confirms 16 satellites were launched in March, with plans for 292 by 2027 and roughly 900 by 2035, but current coverage remains intermittent.
Russia is accelerating deployment of its Rassvet satellite-internet constellation, a project designed to reduce dependence on foreign communications systems and eventually provide Starlink-like coverage.
Reuters reports that Ukrainian military intelligence deputy chief Vadym Skibitsky says the system is being rolled out faster than Kyiv expected.
Russia launched 16 production satellites in March 2026.
Official plans call for 292 satellites by 2027 and a much larger constellation approaching 900 by 2035.
For now, Rassvet can only provide intermittent coverage when individual satellites pass over a relevant area.
That makes the phrase “Russian Starlink” directionally accurate but operationally premature.
SpaceX’s Starlink uses thousands of low-Earth-orbit satellites to provide near-continuous coverage across broad regions.
A constellation of a few dozen cannot replicate that.
The strategic importance is nevertheless obvious.
Starlink has transformed the Ukraine war by giving units resilient broadband connectivity for drones, artillery coordination, battlefield messaging and command systems.
Ukraine has depended heavily on the service.
Russian forces also obtained Starlink terminals through unofficial channels, creating a political and security problem for SpaceX and Kyiv.
Ukraine successfully pushed for measures restricting grey-market Russian use.
That gives Moscow a powerful incentive to build a sovereign alternative.
Rassvet is being developed by Bureau 1440 and is planned around low-Earth-orbit satellites, high-speed links and a growing ground network.
Russian sources have described laser inter-satellite communications and 5G-compatible technology.
If the constellation reaches hundreds of satellites, military users could gain broadband connectivity that is much harder for Ukraine or Western companies to switch off.
That would reduce one of Russia’s battlefield vulnerabilities.
It would also have civilian value.
Russia covers enormous territory where fibre networks and mobile towers are expensive to build.
Satellite broadband can connect remote industrial sites, Arctic regions, ships and rural communities.
The dual-use nature of the system is therefore central.
A civilian broadband project can simultaneously become critical military infrastructure during war.
There are major obstacles.
Russia faces sanctions affecting advanced electronics and aerospace components.
Launching hundreds of satellites requires production scale, rockets and ground infrastructure.
One of the first 16 production satellites was reportedly lost after launch, demonstrating that rapid deployment will not be frictionless.
The constellation also remains far smaller than Starlink and will need repeated launches to provide continuous service.
Ukraine is already discussing countermeasures.
Those could include electronic warfare, attacks on ground terminals, cyber operations or attempts to disrupt satellite links.
Destroying satellites physically would create a much more dangerous escalation and debris problem.
The communications contest therefore mirrors the broader war: each side tries to reduce dependence on systems the opponent can pressure.
The open question is whether Rassvet becomes a genuinely resilient Russian military communications layer by 2027—or whether industrial constraints leave Moscow with a technically impressive but patchy network while Starlink retains an enormous scale advantage.